1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reinforced rubber hose and more particularly to a reinforced hose having a layer of ethylene-propylene rubber outside or inside a fiber-reinforcing layer. The reinforced rubber hose according to the present invention includes brake hoses, heater hoses, and water hoses.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional brake hoses have a fiber-reinforcing layer covered with a layer of ethylene/propylene rubber (referred to as EPR layer hereinafter), as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 200688/1986. Ethylene-propylene rubber is used because of its good resistance to weather, ozone, and heat. The fiber-reinforcing layer is usually made of fibrous reinforcement of polar polymeric material, such as polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber, polyamide fiber, and polyester (PET) fiber. These fibers do not adhere well, however, to the non-polar EPR layer. For this reason, it is common practice to treat (usually by dipping) the fibrous reinforcement with an adhesive, such as resorcin-formalin-rubber latex (RFL), before it is formed into the fiber-reinforcing layer.